Shape and Form (aka my idea for how Crona gets rescued)
by Ynot7
Summary: Manga sequel. Crona stopped Asura, but now he's trapped on the moon. How will he deal with it? Will he ever leave? Read to find out! Written for anyone dissatisfied with the manga's end for Crona.
1. Chapter 1

**My personal sequel to the manga and my attempt to wrap up some loose ends (especially regarding Crona, though I'll try and give the others plenty of screen time). I'd like to thank AkireRosales, whose story My Happy Ending inspired me to write this. Also, Crona's a guy in this story, so please, no arguing. Also, in case shippers are on deck, this is meant to be platonic, not romantic. Only my second fanfic (my first is Crona meets Excalibur). Sorry if it sucks. Please review after reading.**

* * *

Darkness, that's all there was wherever you looked. Things which once had shape and form before being taken by madness were now a part of this darkness. Yet, among this dark void, there was a very distinct shape and form. A curled up shape and form of pink hair on a slim, pale body. This was the shape and form of the Demon Swordsman, Crona, and to him, this darkness was not at all strange. He'd lived most of his life in it.

Yet, even so, his mind did not occupy itself with the pain, loneliness, and self-loathing to which he was most accustomed. No, instead he often found his thoughts drifting back to that place of warmth, love, and acceptance. No matter how long he spent in the darkness and the cold, his memories of welcoming emerald green eyes were strong as ever.

Maka. Of all the years of his life, only the time spent with her and her friends seemed worth remembering.

"How long has it been?" He thought to himself.

How long had it been since he began this lonely vigil? How long since he last saw her? How long since he imprisoned himself to save her? What were those words he'd heard? "I'll definitely come back for you! So wait for me!" How long since he'd smiled and so calmly spoken those words? "I believe in you." These were the questions circulating through his troubled mind. A mind he tried to keep strong in order to suppress Asura. Should he sink too deeply into despair, that man, that force of destruction, would return to shatter the lives of his friends. So, he hovered here, kept strong, and wondered if he'd ever see them again.

After a moment of contemplation, he put his head to his knees (a position all too familiar to the young swordsman) and let out a sigh. "It doesn't matter" he spoke out into the darkness, just to hear the sound of his own voice. "As long as it takes I'll stay here, keeping you safe." He sighed again, clutching his arms. "I just wish it wasn't so hard...being alone." He rested his head on his knees.

Silence returned.

"Feeling sorry for yourself, again?" A cold voice cut through the silence.

Recognizing this voice, a shudder radiated through his spine as he lifted his head from his knees and took in the figure before him. He remembered it all too well. The arrow design on otherwise black nail polish, the sadistic smile, and most of all, those eyes, with a gaze colder than ice.

"M-Medusa-sama?" Crona stuttered out, his eyes wide with fear, a throb within his mind as he wondered if this was just another illusion created by the kishin in order to weaken him.

Her eyes narrowed in contempt. "Still as pathetic as ever, aren't you, my child? Waiting for friends that will never come, nor do you even deserve."

Crona squeezed his arm tighter. "N-no, it's just...I miss her is all."

Medusa laughed. "Really? Admit it, you expect her to come back. Isn't that just like you, forcing Maka to waste her time with you, even after everything you've done."

Crona's head sank, his eyes looking down in guilt.

Medusa continued, the intensity in her voice rising. "Your whole life, you've been nothing but a failure. You failed as a friend, a son, you couldn't even become a proper kishin."

Crona's head sank lower, into his knees.

"You don't belong with her. You're not part of her world and you never will be. You're nothing but a worthless mass-murderer. Someone like Maka shouldn't have to waste time with someone like you. No matter what you do, you'll just wind up hurting her. You should do the selfless thing and let yourself fade away like the rest of life's failures." Medusa's features sharpened and elongated as a red eye appeared in the center of her forehead. Her voice becoming closer to that of a certain kishin. "Give in, resign yourself to the madness and despair you so rightfully deserve." Her face tightened into a twisted grin.

A tear fell from Crona's eyes as his hands gripped his knees.

"No, I can't."

Medusa's features took on a look of anger.

"What?"

"Even if you're right about me, I can't give in...if I do, Maka will be sad and I don't want that."

Medusa's teeth grit.

"Will you forget her?! Don't you get it?! She's abandoned you! Moved on!" Medusa hissed.

Crona remained still, seemingly not listening.

"DO YOU HEAR ME?!"

Only silence came from Crona.

"Ridiculous." a new, yet also familiar voice chirped out.

Crona lifted his head and opened his eyes to see Medusa gone and a new shape and form in her place. The shape and form of a black figure with two giant foamy looking hands and a skull mask.

"Shi-Shinigami-sama?" Crona asked, shocked as he straightened up, wiping away his tears.

"Have you ever heard anything so ridiculous?"

"Hmm?" Crona let out, puzzled.

"Why, the idea that Maka would abandon a friend, of course. Talk about ridiculous."

Crona blinked.

"Crona" the death god called, pulling Crona from his thoughts, "I'm a Shinigami, I've been around for over 800 years and have seen my fair share of truly horrible blunders made by humanity, yet no matter how horrible the things they've done, there is still always some good worth fighting for." He gestured a large gloved hand to Crona. "You are no different, Crona. The mistakes of your past are beyond horrible, yet your future is not set in stone. You are not irredeemable or a failure. If anything, you should be somewhat proud of yourself."

"P-Proud, me?" Now Crona truly was confused.

"Of course, you saved your friends and are still the same person Maka loved so much. You should be proud that you managed to hang on to yourself, despite everything you did."

Crona rubbed his arm, unsure of what to say.

Shinigami continued. "You've come a long way and you're a little wiser than you were before, you found something you could believe in, or should I say, someone?"

Crona blushed, thinking about a pair of pigtails and a smile that he missed very much.

"Now you just need to go a little further and try believing in the things that she believed in. After all, despite what the rest world thought, just as I've always believed in humanity, Maka has always believed in you."

Crona smiled at the death god's comforting words.

"Thank you, Shinigami-sama."

"Don't mention it."

This moment between them was broken by a single noise.

"Crona!" A voice called out from somewhere both near and very far away. A voice Crona had been wanting to hear for quite some time. The voice continued to call as it was joined by the unmistakable sound of piano music. A glowing sheet of music materialized before Crona.

"Crona, I'm here now! It's time to go!"

Crona looked back between the death god and the music sheet.

A wave of fear overtook him at the prospect of leaving. After all, this was a world he'd betrayed and tried to destroy. Could he deal with returning to it?

"Please, Crona! I know you're afraid, but we all miss you! I...**I** miss you!" The voice called out, filled with want and desperation. For a moment he considering ignoring the voice, waiting for it to leave him to the darkness he belonged in and go back to it's own home. He could just picture the sadness on the face the voice belonged to. As wary as he was of the world and his place in it, he didn't have it in himself to turn his back on that face, not again.

"I think someone wants to see you." The death god advised.

Crona's eyebrows narrowed as his expression became serious. He nodded his head. Having done this before, Crona added his soul to the symphony, connecting his with souls all around the world.

"Oh, and Crona..." Shinigami called as Crona was carried away by the music.

"Hmm?" Crona turned his head back.

"Tell Kid he's doing an excellent job!"

Crona nodded his head again and smiled as he waved back at the death god. Shinigami-sama returned the gesture with a wave of his own, a blue glow emanating from him as he dissolved into dust, making Crona wonder where death gods go when they die.

Turning back to the task at hand, Crona began to resonate his soul with the others, letting the tune of Soul's music fill his ears as he felt warm light consume him, the song of millions of souls filling his ears, the darkness and silence dissipating. He focused on one note in particular, the gentle, strong note of a certain scythemeister. Crona could feel the resonance increase, the tune reaching its' crescendo, the light of the souls becoming brighter, warmer, louder until...


	2. Chapter 2

Act 2 (The action :)

"YAHOO!"

That was the first sound that greeted Crona as his he poked his head out into the light. The cold air of a late midday covered him in goosebumps, as a spiky blue haircut came into view.

Before Crona could make much of the sight before him, he felt his neck strain as it was suddenly yanked by two muscular hands, sending him past a row of teeth. He looked back to see the Kishin attempting to close its' jaw, remarking _"Must be something I ate!"_

"Was I just puked up?" He thought as he tumbled out into the open air, being caught by two pairs of hands. Crona looked around him to see the muscular figure and the annoyed face of the egotistic assassin, Black Star, to one side.

"How the hell'd a skinny guy like you get to be so heavy anyways?!" Black Star snorted. Crona felt a strange sense of relief at what he heard next (while also feeling a bit bad for Black Star).

"Maka-chop!"

Crona glanced over to see something he'd been missing for some time, a pair of pigtails, attached to a face that was currently smiling fondly at him. Scythemeister Maka Albarn, his best friend.

"Hi Crona." She spoke, her tone friendly and gentle.

He blushed."Um...hi...Maka."

A silence fell as the two simply stared at each other for a moment.

"Ow! Did you really have to hit me so hard?!" A loud voice interrupted.

The two broke eye contact to glance over at Black Star, who was currently busy rubbing his head in pain.

"Dude, you really know how to wreck a moment." A calm voice

Crona looked over curiously to see the source of this sudden sarcasm.

Sitting beneath Maka was the winged piano scythe, Soul Eater Evans, his blade emitting an intense white glow. Crona's eyes ached as he stared into it.

"Nice to see you and all Crona, but we've really gotta stop meeting like this." Soul wryly commented.

Crona's attempt at a reply was interrupted, however by a sudden intense red glow. Crona looked toward the source just in time to catch sight of a bright beam heading towards the group.

"Look out!" A stern voice shouted.

A black blur flew in front of them in a flash and put his hands together, creating a glowing golden energy shield in the shape of a skull, blocking the beam. Crona's eyes lit up in recognition at the figure. Dark cloak, black and white striped hair. It was Death the Kid, the new Shinigami.

Kid's teeth grit as he strained against the beam, eventually throwing it back toward it's source. It made contact with a _BOOM_, a brief bright light followed by a cloud of smoke.

Once the smoke cleared, Crona looked to the source.

Where the mad blood had once formed a solid dome around the moon, was now a small gap, leaving the black and white hair, pale skin, and flesh wrappings from the monstrous figure of kishin Asura's upper body exposed, his lower body still trapped in a dark crater of the mad blood. Even after all that time spent within him, just looking at the creature gave Crona mild goosebumps.

_"Oh, that was a nice maneuver. Pathetic and ultimately useless, but nice." _The kishin mocked, grinning madly.

Black Star zoomed towards the kishin, Tsubaki's Uncanny Sword form pointed towards the kishin.

"We'll see who's pathetic when you taste the power of Black Star, the man who surpassed God and can levitate, even while looking at boobs!" The assassin bragged.

"Black Star!" Tsubaki's voice shot from her sword form, irritated and with a hint of embarrassment. "I thought we agreed you wouldn't mention that again!"

Before Black Star could utter a response, a storm of sharpened scarves, the size of pillars, shot from Asura's torso, the ends curled into drills. Black Star sliced through the scarves with ease, as another red beam shot from Asura's mouth, which Black Star blocked with his sword.

As he struggled against the beam, it's force pushing him back, above him, Kid flew over to Maka.

"Maka, I wanna try something with Soul. I need you and Crona to dismount. Crona, I'll give you moment to spread your wi-"

Understanding the command, before Kid could finish the sentence, Crona picked Maka up, now hovering wingless in mid-air.

"Um, well... nevermind." Kid stammered, a little surprised before turning back to the task at hand. Kid took Soul by the handle, his scythe wings receding but his glow remaining.

Crona looked on as Kid flew over to Black Star, intercepting the beam with Soul's blade.

_"The Grim Reaper wields a Death Scythe, this should be good!" _The kishin jeered.

"Go Black Star!" Kid shouted. "I'll cover you!"

At that, Black Star charged forward and plunged a hand down Asura's throat, grabbing Vajra by the tip, even as the heat from the blade burned his hands.

"Careful, Black Star!" Tsubaki warned.

_"Oh yes be careful where you put your hands, you know where I've been!" _Asura taunted.

"YOU'RE REALLY PISSING ME OFF!" Black Star shouted, ripping Vajra from Asura's throat, cutting off the red beam.

Asura choked out black blood from his throat. A sigh of relief could be quietly heard as Black Star watched Vajra dissolve into dust in his hand. He quickly turned to Kid.

"Now Kid!"

"Right! Go Soul Resonance!" The blade glowed with an intensity unseen before as Kid's rigid but friendly soul mixed with Soul's more laid back wavelength.

"Kishin Hunter!" Kid yelled as he brought the blade down upon Asura in a flash of light.

As the smoke cleared from the attack, all that was heard was chilling laughter.

_"HA-HA-HA-HA! Did you pathetic weaklings really think an attack like that could stop me?" _Asura mocked, his hand moving to cover the black blood pouring from his wounds. The attack had apparently caused the mad blood to recede to such a point that it was now only encasing his feet. _"With your little friend out of me, this blood alone can't imprison me. You've spelled your own doom!"_

"We know." Maka calmly stated as Kid and Black Star flew to her side, Soul's scythe blade becoming dim.

_"What?"_

Crona turned to look at Maka as she tapped her coat and four misshapen purple and black objects with strange red mouths flew out.

"A little something we made after studying Medusa's research." Maka explained.

Crona's eyes widened in recognition.

"Purple dye clowns!" he thought.

Maka turned to him and whispered in his ear. Understanding the command, Crona nodded his head.

He pointed to Asura and spoke softly, simply, "Madness fusion."

Letting out a bizarre giggling sound the clowns flew forward and, in a flash, embedded themselves in Asura's wounds on his arms and torso, his flesh taking on a swirling purple and black design to match the clowns where they had fused.

_"Wait, is it...mad blood!?" _Asura shouted as the mad blood began to flow back around his body in a tidal wave, as if drawn by magnets. He choked on the blood as it began to encircle his head. He shouted back one final taunt.

_"Using emotionless soldiers of madness to trap me, very clever. But remember this, Crona Makenshi! Deep down we are just alike! One day, fear will swallow you just as it did me and then you'll wish you'd stayed behind!" _

With that final word, the mad blood overwhelmed Asura, rising higher and higher until it became level with the rest of the dome. Soon after, there was a small cracking sound as the blood hardened, becoming black and smooth once more.

"It looks perfectly symmetrical again." Kid remarked, his voice filled with admiration.

"Yeah, it's the most perfectly symmetrical boob I've ever seen." Black Star responded in awe.

Kid shot him a death glare.

"What!?"

Kid rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"Let's just get back home." He sighed, exhausted.

He flew back over to Crona, handing Soul back to Maka, wings again sprouting from his blade as she took her place atop the demon scythe.

Seeing Crona's somewhat confused expression, Maka decided to explain things.

"See, the clowns will act as magnets for the mad blood, while at the same time being bound to Asura, and the strength of their bond depends on Asura's level of madness. So, the madder Asura gets, the stronger the clowns' ability to restrain him will be. In a way, I guess you could say he's keeping himself imprisoned."

Not knowing how to respond, Crona simply said, "Oh."

Maka gave his shoulder a pat in an attempt to comfort him. "Come on, everyone's waiting for us." She said, gesturing toward the others.

As the party flew off to the waiting airship, Crona gave one last look toward the moon.

A twinge of sorrow hit his stomach as he remembered Asura. He thought of Maka and the others and how they had always fought for him, no matter what. He wondered if Asura had had anyone like that and if it would have made him any different.

"Poor guy." He thought to himself before flying off to rejoin the others.


	3. Chapter 3

Act 3 (The part where I explain stuff)

Kid was the first to touch down on the deck of the airship, dusting off his dark Shinigami jacket as his companions landed behind him.

"I see the mission was a success." A dry voice observed.

Kid and the others looked over to see the grinning face of Professor Franken Stein. Hands in his pockets, Stein took a few steps onto the deck, stopping in front of Kid.

"Yes," Kid replied. "The clowns you designed to harness Asura's madness and use it to bind him worked perfectly, as did Soul's musical chain resonance."

Stein shrugged. "Remember, that wasn't my idea. Soul was the one who realized we could use his music sheet to join all the world's souls together in resonance to power up Maka's anti-demon wavelength and use the same trail he'd left last time to pull Crona out of Asura."

"Hey" Soul chuckled, changing back to human form, "Never underestimate the power of music. "Hearing this, Crona looked down, blushing and clutching his arm.

He thought to himself, _"They did all that for me?"_

He was brought out of his thoughts by a pair of bespectacled eyes staring down at him. He looked up to see Professor Stein looking at him, brow raised.

"Interesting new look Crona." Stein remarked. The others turned to look as well, not having had the opportunity to really look at him during the battle. Before them was a different Crona than the one they had seen. His pink hair, and skinny, pale body remained, however his once black puritan-style robes had now taken on a white cloth desert style appearance, making him look almost like he belonged in a Star Wars movie. Most peculiar, was that his two already now whitish grey eyes had been joined by a third pupilless one which had appeared in the center of his forehead. They all began to stare, which made Crona even more embarrassed.

"Why do you suppose...?" Kid began.

"I'd theorize it has to do with the energy he soaked in from Brew." Stein answered.

"Speaking of which..." Kid questioned, "Where is Brew?"

Silently, Crona reached into his robe and pulled out a now rusted-looking metal cube.

"So, it seems that Brew's power has finally been depleted." The scientist explained, taking the cube in his own hand, curiously examining it. Finally, he put it into the pocket of his lab coat before turning his attention back to Crona.

"And the Book of Eibon?" He inquired.

"It's here", Crona confirmed, reaching into his robe again and pulling out the book in question. This time, Kid took hold of it, placing it under his arm.

"I presume the book's power is still intact." Kid questioned. Crona nodded. "Very well, then. Once we return to the Academy, I'll place it in secure storage so it can't be used to cause any trouble."

"Speaking of trouble", Stein frowned, "where's Ragnarok?" "Crona looked down in shame. "I-I don't know, I stopped hearing him after being absorbed by Asura."

"Very curious." Stein remarked "I'll need to do some tests on you as soon possible."

"Really, Frank, you never stop finding new things to dissect, do you?" a new voice remarked, as Crona turned to face the familiar eye patch of a very pregnant Marie Mjolnir. He felt a surge of guilt come over him. He was pulled out of his thoughts by the feeling of an arm encircling his shoulders. Looking to his side, he saw that the arm belonged to a grinning Maka.

"Doesn't matter." Her grin widened, "Ragnarok or not, Crona's still Crona." She turned to the crowd gathered around them. "Right?"

Crona felt a vague sense of deja vu as he looked at the circle of warm smiles around him. He hung his head low, remembering Asura's and Medusa's words of fear and doubt.

"Crona, what's wrong?" Maka asked, her voice full of concern.

Crona sniffled. "You-you shouldn't have come back for me. I betrayed you, trapped countless people in a fate worse than death, murdered my mother, tr-tried to destroy the world. I don't even understand why what I did was wrong. I sh-should still be on the moo-" _Thump_. He felt the jarring sensation of a thick book hitting his head.

"_Shut up_." Maka's stern voice commanded.

Crona's eyes widened as he looked up and saw that she was crying now.

Her arms encircled him in a hug. Tears soaked into his robe. "Just shut the hell up and be my friend again." Maka answered, quietly. Crona definitely didn't know how to deal with this.

A firm hand soon rested on his shoulder. He looked to see Kid giving him a small smile as Maka drew away, giving him some space.

"I forgave the witches, so I'd be a hypocrite if I didn't forgive you." The young shinigami calmly stated, his voice stern, yet gentle. "You may be pleased to know that we've since managed to remove your mad blood barriers. However, your crimes will still not be without consequence, such things are never truly forgotten. You will be prohibited from leaving Death City, unescorted, and I expect you to work with us to help keep the order", he continued,"but still, it's good to have you back."

"Yo!" A loud voice interrupted, Crona turned to see the egotistic assassin, Black Star giving him a blinding grin and a thumbs-up.

"A great star such as I shines far too brightly to hold a grudge", his expression softened, "right Tsubaki?"

There was a flash of light as Tsubaki changed back to her human form, the dark haired woman's expression a soft smile. She simply nodded.

"Ahem." Crona turned at the sound to see the now serious face of Marie Mjolnir. "You know, it didn't take long before we figured out that you were the one who gave me that snake." She stated plainly, as Crona's face lowered in shame. He couldn't see her face, instead he just listened as she continued. "For a while, I was a bit angry, and a bit disappointed, I mean, you did betray us." Her voice rose in pitch as tears built up under Crona's eyes. "So, here you are and I've just got one thing to say..."

Crona braced himself for a slap or some angry, scolding words when...

A soft hand stroked his cheek.

Confused, he looked to see Marie, her expression still serious, but somewhat softer. "Don't you dare worry me like that again." She said sternly, smirking a little. She took a step back as Maka cupped Crona's face in her hands.

Maka looked into his confused blue eyes, her own glistening with happiness. "So please, Crona, forgive yourself. Because the thought of you, alone on the moon, forever, away from everyone who cares about you..." She paused before speaking quietly, almost a whisper, "I wouldn't know how to deal with that."

Crona's eyes widened, somewhat comforted by someone speaking the same words as himself, as Maka wrapped him in a hug once more. He placed his arms on her back to return the gesture as he looked to see Soul grinning at him.

"Like I told you before, get lost in the music now and think about it later." The demon scythe advised.

Crona nodded, placing his head on Maka's shoulder, a movement he thought he'd never feel again. This was his best friend, the person who would care for him no matter what, the person whose happiness he'd gladly suffer eternal imprisonment for. Even if the rest of the world would never truly accept him, at least she would. He smiled a little, this was something he could deal with.

The words of Medusa and Asura faded, replaced by Shinigami-sama's words of faith and guidance.

Maka, in turn, rested her head against Crona's. This was the boy who'd taken so many lives, who'd been so convinced of his own evil, who had the power to cause such destruction, who'd seemed beyond saving again and again.

Yet, none of that mattered to her. To her, he wasn't the Devil Sword or the next kishin. He was simply Crona, the brother she never had, the sweet, shy boy who sat next to her in class, the one who would suffer anything on her behalf.

A warmth steadily grew in both of them as their souls locked together in harmony. Their friendship and devotion to each other, mixing perfectly. This resonance of their souls enveloped them, as Maka remembered the wise words of someone very close to her.

_"In the end the shape and form don't matter. All that matters is the soul."_

...

This moment, however, was soon interrupted as the airship suddenly swerved at a 90 degree turn, sending all on board hurtling into the ship's railing.

Infuriated, Kid rose from the crumpled heap that the group had become.

"Liz, what the hell's going on! I thought you were steering the ship!" He shouted into the com device on his jacket collar.

"Sorry Kid, I went to use the restroom and left it on autopilot, but then Patty took control of the steering wheel!" Liz's frantic voice answered back.

"Hee-hee-hee, let's play Hindenburg!" Patty giggled.

"DAMMIT PATTY!" Kid shouted, stomping toward the lower deck.

As Maka helped Crona up from the ground, Crona chuckled a little as he thought to himself.

_"__Apparently, some souls never change."_

_ END_

_Well, there it was in all it's what-I-hope-was-glory. Please leave a review and try and be as precise as possible in both your praise and criticisms. I hope to make more fanfictions set in the same universe (I think I'll do a soma next), so you will be seeing more of Crona and the rest of Soul Eater's awesome characters. :)_


End file.
